Nervous about adult Asperger's assessment

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I was diagnosed with traits of Asperger's syndrome when i was 7years 10 mouths old.

I have decided as an adult to get officially tested. However know that the letter for my appointment date has come though, i feel physically sick with worry, it's 2 mouths away, but I can not stop worrying about it.

One of my main worries is that they will give me a miss diagnose, my days can vary from very good to very bad. I'm also worried that if I go in on a very bad day I will not be able to explain to them my difficulties and this might lead to them misunderstanding me and giving me a diagnosis of Social anxiety disorder or something which explain some of my traits but not all.

My other worry is that they what a parent to come along. But well, I really don't what my mum to know i'm seeking a diagnosis, I'm really worried about this. How important do people think it is, in receiving an accurate diagnosis, to have your parents there as well?

My other worry, (yes I know i worry a lot), is kind of the un know, what will happen in the test, what kind of things will they ask, what is the format for the test?

If anyone who has been though the test, especially in the UK, or if you are seeking a diagnosis, please let me know your experiences, as I am so worried and really need some re-ashore-hence .

If you get a wrong diagnosis, or the one you don't want, go to another.

I'm not where you are, but you didn't need a parent here, as long as you could truthfully answer the questions and such.

All I was really asked were questions about my life, and they were also related to various symptoms.

I'm getting mine soon too. My parents think I'm flat out silly for "getting help" since they believe my life has "turned out fine". I think you'd be able to recall enough about your own development without their help.

Aside from that fear should be natural.. I've never played the patient except when my wisdom teeth were pulled, and even during that I was only under local anesthetic (which caused me to have a panic attack lol). Haven't been on any meds in my life either. However, my wife takes about eight of them for a number of conditions, so I she tells me I might have to suck it up and start taking something. Not a whole lot to look forward to!

You aren't alone. I have been putting off an official diagnosis for over a year.

You aren't alone. I have been putting off an official diagnosis for over a year.

you aren't alone i am going through this as well ... once i get the letter in the post ..

so you are closer than me

I'm a teen and I had my diagnostic assessment quite recently. My mum doesn't even think I have AS because she doesn't know much about it, and also because she perceives it to only occur to the extreme, in people- particularly boys. However, I did need her for my developmental history. With her on memories of my childhood, she made enough of an impression on the assessor for him to actually say it's quite possible that I have AS...I also got to hear a lot of things that I didn't know about myself, from what my mum had said.

...I therefore think it's important to have a parent there, as they usually know more about yourself than you do. Also, I'm not too sure about the adult process, but my mum has to have a separate meeting with the Developmental Progress Team (psychologist, psychiatrist, councilor/assessor etc) that carried out the ADOS on me, so they can obtain even more information about me in order to make a diagnosis. - I hope this helps.

Do you know who it's with - a psychiatrist or psychologist?

I saw a psychiatrist at first, who rattled through a one hour assessment (as well as wondering about Asperger's, I was very depressed with suicidal ideation and a long history of psychological maladjustment) - he dismissed Asperger's as I'd once played cricket during PE at school, said I had mild depression and sent me on my way with a recommendation for a particular anti-anxiety drug. So I went back to my GP, essentially asking for a second opinion/help, and was passed onto the local mental health team. Saw a CPN and social worker - the 'gateway' people - who passed me onto a psychologist. I saw him for 12 or so sessions - supposedly an hour a time, but we often ran over by 20-30 minutes - and (as well as more general psychological things) he did a fuller assessment including ADOS, EQ/AQ and the WAIS-IV iq test. And from that, the diagnosis.

What I found helpful was to make a note of any symptoms - be it one off moments, or a realisation of wider patterns of behaviour - when I noticed them, which I could then tell him about. I also made it clear - and luckily the psychologist understood - that much of the time my appearance there in front of him was at great effort to be 'with it' enough, which was how I tried to be in public or strange company.

Good luck to anyone going for a diagnosis.

Go for it.I did this year and have been diagnosed at the best clinic in England. If they diagnose you as not having it, accept it, if it's a diagnosis of HFA or AS then also accept it. They will know and it's extremely unlikely they will misdiagnose.

You had it at 7 and will always have it.